This is a follow-up to my e-mail of September 3, 2002 regarding William Alexander's Revolutionary War service. The DAR Library's Search Service has finally gotten back to me (it was closer to three months than the promised three weeks -- oh well) and furnished the following information:

William Alexander (the one who would later become the husband of Agnes "Nancy" Brewster) is reported as serving together with his father, James, in Captain John Dickey's Augusta County company in 1783 [source: Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, author: Lyman Chalkley, originally published 1912, reprinted, 1989, Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland (referred to hereinafter as "Chalkley's Chronicles"), Volume Number II, Page Number 431]. Also, according to a separate source, William Alexander also served in Captain Dickey's company during the prior year, 1782 [source: Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution, Soldiers - Sailors - Marines, 1775 - 1783, author: John Gwathmey, originally published 1938, reprinted, 1979, Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland (referred to hereinafter as "Virginians in the Revolution"), Page Number 7].

Of course, for those of you who are keeping score at home, this also means that James Alexander Sr. likewise qualifies as a DAR "Patriot Ancestor." I confirmed over the weekend that he is listed in the DAR 1990 Centennial Index, at Volume 1, Page 31. He served in Captain John Dickey's Augusta County militia company in 1781 [source: Virginians in the Revolution, Page Number 7] and again in 1783 [source: Chalkley's Chronicles, Volume Number II, Page Number 431]. James is listed as an Augusta County Tithable in 1781 [source: Ibid] and he and three of his sons, Andrew, James Jr. and John, are all listed as serving in Thomas Captain Rankin's Augusta County militia company in 1783 [source: Ibid]. Later that same year, James and his fourth son, William are in Captain Dickey's company as noted in the preceding paragraph [source: Ibid].

All of this got me to wondering a bit more about James Alexander. According to Oscar Curtis, Andy MacNair's "Alexanders in America,"... and the DAR's Patriot Index, James was born on July 28, 1723 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. However, no one lists a source for that fact and you know how the Source Fanatic feels about such omissions! Here's a guess: Andy got his information from Oscar and Oscar got it from the DAR. If I'm right, we're going to have to request a DAR Record Copy for the original James Alexander and see who submitted him and what they submitted as their source -- but perhaps one of you has the answer to this question!

Here's another question about James Alexander. Oscar lists his death as taking place 1809 in Fayette County, Kentucky, Andy gives it as 1803 in either Fayette or Bourbon counties and Jane Hutton says it occurred in Fayette, Bourbon or Jessamine counties. Can anyone shed any light on this discrepancy or their sources for same?

By the way, I'm relatively confident that James Alexander's wife and William Alexander's mother was named Rachel. It is not without doubt because the Augusta County Clerk was not recording the bride's name in the years around September 11, 1759 when James married [sources: Chalkley's Chronicles, Volume Number II, Page Number 276; Early Virginia Marriages, editor: William Armstrong Crozier, published, 1953, Southern Book Company, Baltimore, Maryland, Page Number 86]. However, we have two deeds from 1785 and 1792 and Rachel is named as the wife of James in both. "James Alexander and Rachel, his wife, of Augusta County" were among those signing a deed to John Long that was recorded September 19, 1785 in Augusta County, Virginia [source: materials received from Jane Hutton, citing to Augusta County Deed Book Number 25, Page Number 309] and "James Alexander and Rachel, his wife, of Fayette County, Kentucky," also conveyed 100 acres of land in that county to William Alexander on August 11, 1792 and retained a life estate in said acreage [source: Maxwell History and Genealogy, Page Number 557]. She could be a stepmother of course, but absent any other evidence to the contrary, I will assume that Rachel is William's mother's name.

Okay team, any answers regarding James Alexander?